Obesity: A health time bomb to watch out for

By Sande E Oundo

The World Health Organization defines obesity as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health with body mass index /BMI (weight/height2) above 30 or higher, while overweight has a BMI of 25 or higher. Due to inaccuracies of BMI, for not accounting for muscle mass, a better measurement is waist circumference for men of more than 102 cm and women of more than 88cm.

Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths worldwide, with increasing rates in adults and children. By 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese. It is rapidly increasing in low and middle-economic countries. Obesity is more common in women than in men, possibly due to pregnancies. 

Obesity leads to a condition called metabolic syndrome which is a combination of diabetes, hypertension, and high lipids/fat in the blood (cholesterol and triglyceride). It also predisposes to cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke and gangrene), fatty liver disease, cancers, dementia, sleep apnea (snoring due to lack of breathing), osteoarthritis (joint problems), infertility, depression, skin issues, blindness, kidney failure, and more disabling or fatal diseases. 

It is the one known factor which leads to death when a healthy person is infected with COVID-19 because people who suffer from obesity experience a four-fold increased risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Meanwhile, some cultures still favor obesity, looking at it as a sign of wealth and success, which is to the detriment of individuals.

There are two main hormones which are responsible for food intake and energy expenditure, Ghrelin is an appetite hormone which is produced and works in the stomach (to eat when the stomach is empty and stop when full) and Leptin is produced by fat cells

 to signal fat storage reserves in the body and mediates appetite (eat more when fat storage is low and eat less when fat storage is high), that is why someone can gain weight in one week which they lost in 3 months as the body prefers a state of balance so leptin compensates for the weight loss in that short duration.

Food has shifted from more natural and less caloric to processed, heavy in calories, sugary and addictive additives for example fast foods alongside beverages/ drinks like soda have liquid sugar (fructose) which cannot be digested by the body rather the body stores it as fat, which doesn’t only lead to obesity in adults but is even worse as in obesity in children. 

National and global dietary guides still recommend high calories to fight undernutrition.

Due to people living in big cities, hence transportation by vehicles, working in less laborious jobs and digital entertainment all these have led to physical inactivity and less expenditure of fats as energy.

Africans or people of African descent originally inherited genes from their ancestors which were built for less caloric food so they stored less fat, however, due to the abundance of food and sugars with high calories, current people store more fat because leptin is still high in their body.

Diseases like hormonal/ eating disorders and genetic ones have been linked with obesity. Medications like diabetes, asthma, HIV, bacteria, epilepsy, depression and psychosis have been linked to lead to obesity and thus should be used with caution.

Some environmental chemicals found in plastics, paints, agricultural products, industrial water from taps, and seafood have chemicals which disrupt natural body hormonal systems predisposing to obesity. 

There are some modern medicine treatments for obesity like medication for diabetes and surgeries to remove the fat. However, due to expenses, risks and lack of effectiveness, the only true treatment for obesity is lifestyle modification which has been studied and observed to be very effective, cheap and practical. Therefore with consistency, commitment and personal will one can beat obesity while embracing the following :

1. Fasting for at least 8 hours a day gives the body enough time to digest and use calories.
2. Walking at least for 30 minutes a day.
3. Avoiding processed food and soda.
4. Finding supportive individuals, ideally your spouse and friends.
5. Avoiding late-night snacks.
6. Getting a quality night sleep.
7. Seeking a coach for accountability and guidance.

In conclusion, the global burden and threat of obesity constitutes a major public health challenge that undermines social and economic development throughout the world and has the effect of increasing inequalities between countries and within populations. Therefore, without addressing obesity, it will not be possible to achieve a 30% reduction of premature deaths from NCDs by 2030, nor will it be possible to end malnutrition (by wasting and overweight) among children under 5 years of age however with lifestyle,  behavior modification among people, political will the epidemic of obesity can be won and as such people will  live a more meaningful, long and productive life. 

Sande Elison Oundo is a holistic health practitioner and President of Vigilant Living, A counselling and coaching company